Wednesday, August 4, 2010

As you are all very well aware the environment has been in the news quite a bit lately. From issues of global warming, to drought here in Australia and the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

With this in mind, this months challenge theme will be Reuse, Recycle, Revive the Planet. Create something with an environmental theme, use a piece of recycled glass (be it fused, lampworked, mosaic, whatever takes your glassy fancy!).

The contest is now open and ends at 11:59pm on August 24th. Members must upload pictures of their works to the FLICKR gallery, and items must be listed on ETSY. Each member may submit one entry only with the above theme, and voting will be open to all Etsy members and the winner of the challenge will be featured on our CGGE Home Page.

Jill found inspiration for her stained glass piece after surviving the long Midwestern winter and could one again be stimulated by the summer blooms. She enjoys pushing the boundaries of stained and fusing techniques and knows that, “Sometimes mistakes turn into the best pieces.”

Jill took her first stained glass class 11 years ago and has more recently taken up fused glass. She appreciates the collective group that is CGGE will all the shared experiences it has to offer and jokes, “We all keep the Band-Aid companies in business....”

Saturday, May 1, 2010

This month’s winner is Lynn of Gilded Lily Glasswho’s winning entry is the beautiful and unique “Jungle Fever” glass bracelet.

Lynn has been working with glass for 15 years and originally started as a stained glass artist. When she started fusing glass and saw the possibilities that the process offered she left stained glass behind and concentrated on fusing. In 2006 she began lampworking. Her fused and lampwork glass jewelry and has been selling glass art at shows and art galleries for over 10 years and has recently joined Etsy and the CGGE.

Lynn is inspired by practically everything she sees and keeps a notebook with her at all times to jot down ideas. She was an art history major and derives inspiration from a number of historical artists.

Lynn is a member of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers and Orange County Artists Guild.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Well, we really gave our members something to get their teeth into this month (sorry!!). The topic was "Foodies" and we left it up to our members to decide what that word meant to them.

We had a great selection of entries, and Paper'N'Clay won by popular vote. Her piece was inspired by the typical breakfast dish of bacon and eggs. Just looking at it makes the mouth water!

We asked Linda what inspired her to make this piece, and she replied "Food is one of my favorite things so my head was swimming with ideas. I have made the bacon brooch before but had never made the matching egg earrings until the challenge presented itself". She also told us that she really enjoys working with glass as she learns from each project and is able to use what she learns to inform her new projects and create something new and exciting. Linda has some plans for the months ahead, and as a result of remodeling work at home, has opportunities to work some glass items into her home and workspace. She has said that she will make glass knobs for a pegboard that runs the length of one of her rooms, which sounds a fascinating project. Many of her items are created out of necessity, and you'll see them in her etsy storesoon.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

We had a great turn out for the start of the year in our first challenge of 2010. Thanks to all who participated in submitting an entry and voting.

Congratulations go to Dawn of First Light Glass for her beautiful fused glass pendant titled, “Let’s Go for a Bike Ride”.

Dawn found inspiration for her pendant when she thought of her family. One of her favorite pastimes with her husband, son and two daughters is going for a bike ride. “We get to enjoy time together, enjoy beautiful weather and scenery, and get some exercise all at the same time.”

Dawn has been working with the glass since 2003. She has always painted and enjoyed being creative. She jumped on board when her church offered a stained glass class. She fell in love with the medium and soon started making stained glass for herself as well as family and friends. She took a fused glass class several years ago and realized that she was hooked on this medium also. Since then, she set up shop in her home studio. Dawn has this to say about her creative process, “Fused glass feels like I’m painting with glass.”

As a member of CGGE, Dawn appreciates how friendly and supportive the group is of each other. She also has this bit of advice - …”experiment to find your style, and enjoy the creative process.”

Sunday, January 3, 2010

CGGE is full of members that are passionate about glass, but what else do they love? Use your imagination to make a work in glass showing what you love. With the start of a new year and a new decade, you can take this time to try a new glass technique for this challenge. Also, you have extra time for this challenge since we’re combining January and February together.

Since we’re just getting out of the busy holiday season, this challenge is for January and February. The contest begins January 1st and ends promptly at 11:59 pm EST on February 25th. Each member may submit one entry only in stained, fused, lampworked or mosaic glass. The entry must be listed in your Etsy shop. All entries are to be posted to the CGGE Challenge Group site on Flickr.

Voting will be open to all Etsy members and the winner of the challenge will be featured on our CGGE Home Page.

Thanks to everyone who found the time to participate in this month’s challenge – even with the holidays looming over your heads. Again, the artists of CGGE have shown how creative and talented they are with the submissions for the December challenge.

Linda has been working with glass for five years. Not only does she fuse glass, but she has a torch for bead making. The inspiration for her December submission is the classic and traditional holly and berries, which is also a favorite of hers.

Linda has this great advice for glass artists… “Be creative and inspired to try new things - they don't all work the way you want, but there's always something to be learned.”

As a member of CGGE, Linda enjoys being a part of our glass group where there is much talent and so many different personalities.

About this site

This blog is designed to be the central processing for monthly Creative Glass Guild of Etsy (CGGE) challenges. Each month, we will have a new challenge theme, entries from CGGE members to be posted to our Flickr group between the 1st and midnight on the 25th of the month. Voting is open to everyone. Voting will take place from midnight on the 25th to midnight of the 28th. We will be including pictures and links for each challenge item, and will be hosting our voting at this location. Our team is comprised of members who make handcrafted glass work and sell our work on Etsy. Please visit the CGGE main website for more information about our team and how to join or click the links above for more information.